


I Was Confused

by TheMightyZan



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-02
Updated: 2015-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-15 23:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3465731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMightyZan/pseuds/TheMightyZan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cullen is confused about Alys and Dorian's relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Was Confused

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt from the Cullenite Facebook group
> 
> Prompt: Cullen thinks quizy and Dorian are together as they spend so much time with each other, the flirts go over his head until he is told Dorian prefers men and cue hope, and fluffiness when he understands the flirts.

He could barely think over the sound of metal clashing around him.

Luckily, he preferred it that way.

Especially lately.

He didn’t much care for his thoughts recently, seeing as they were often centered on one particular person that he had no business focusing on.  Alys.  She had been a constant niggling in his head since almost the first moment he had seen her, wide eyed and terrified looking, outside the ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes.  He had been impressed in those first few minutes by her determination to help close the rifts, later, after she had joined the Inquisition, he had moved from impressed to fascinated.

It had quickly tumbled into smitten by the time they made it to Skyhold, and he was still mentally kicking himself for letting it get so far.

Not that he would ever do anything about it.  He had no desire to embarrass himself, and there was no other way admitting to his feelings could end.

Which made it even sadder, in his opinion, that he couldn’t keep her off his mind.

“Are you alright, Commander?”

The question nearly had him jumping out of his skin, and he glanced to his side to see the current object of his thoughts staring at him with curious green eyes.

“I-I’m, um, I’m fine, Inquisitor.  Just… Thinking of what needs to be done today.”  He silently cursed himself for the stutter, and prayed to the Maker he wouldn’t start blushing when a quick smile crossed her face.

“I hope there isn’t too much.  I was looking forward to seeing you at dinner since you worked through it last night.”

He gave a vague shrug, not really hearing her since he was still mentally berating himself. Managing to get himself under control he focused back on her, trying to keep his smile from looking forced.  “Was there something you needed?”

She blinked then brought a hand up to tug at the end of her braid as she looked away.  “No, sorry.  I didn’t mean to bother you, I just thought I would say hello while I was waiting on Dorian.”

He just barely stopped himself from gritting his teeth at the mention of the Tevinter mage.  Of course she was waiting for Dorian.  Of course she was.

“You aren’t bothering me,” he sighed and forced himself to not think on it.  “You’re welcome to talk to me anytime.”

She smiled again and dropped her hand to hook her arms behind her back.  “I’m glad.  I enjoy talking to you.”  She paused and glanced around before leaned in towards him, her voice dropping so as to not be overheard.  “I think I would enjoy doing other things with you as well.  Do you think you might have free later?  There was something I wished to discuss with you.”

“Of course, Inquisitor. Would you want to meet in my office? I have all my reports there if we need them.”

He watched as she opened her mouth then shut it, her expression turning unreadable.  “No… I mean, your office would be fine, but I hadn’t planned on talking about your reports.”  She glanced around them, shifting from foot to foot a moment before tilting her head slightly.  “You know, I hadn’t thought I was being subtle.”

“Ma’am?”

She opened and closed her mouth again then shook her head before her attention moved past him and her entire posture seemed to brighten.  “Dorian.”

“Did you miss me, love?”

Cullen side stepped as the dark haired man moved past him, an arm sliding around the Inquisitor’s waist as she beamed up at him.  “Always. Are you ready?”

“To spend time with a beautiful and interesting woman?  Always.”

Watching them grin at each other put all sorts of self-deprecating thoughts into Cullen’s mind and he turned his attention back to the fighters around them.  He was being ridiculous.

A hand on his arm had him looking back again, and his heart fluttered at how close Alys was standing, her usually clear cheeks slightly pink.  “Was there something else, Inquisitor?”

“Do you think when we meet later you might try to be more relaxed?”

As if he could relax around her.

“I will do my best.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?  I give an amazing massage.  I would be quite happy to practice it on you.”

He sent her a polite smile even as he shook his head.  “I appreciate the offer, My Lady, but I will be fine.”

She pursed her lips into a pout even as she leaned back into Dorian’s side.  “Too bad, I was hoping for a reason to get you out of your armor.”

It wasn’t the first he had heard someone mention that he wore his armor too much.  ‘You look stuffy’ was a phrase Josephine often used. So he smiled and acknowledged the comment with a wry smile.  “You aren’t the first to say so.”

“I bet,” she murmured before lifting a hand in a wave and leaving with the mage.

He let himself focus back on the recruits the surrounded him, mentally marking those who needed more work and those who were clearly ready to move up in their progress.

When Leliana appeared a few moments later, missive in hand, he tried his best to not roll his eyes at even more interruptions.  Apparently it was going to be one of those days.

“Leliana.”

“Cullen.  I’m curious.  Are you simply not interested, or are you really that blind?”

His brow furrowed at her words, but try as he might he couldn’t figure out what exactly she meant. “And I’m curious, do you always ask such vague questions?”

Her smile could be described as sweet, like a treat before you at too much and it became the worst thing ever.  Her sweet smiles could hardly ever be trusted.  “I’m talking about the Inquisitor.  Tell me you can’t see she’s interested in you.”

It took a few seconds for him to register what she was saying.  When he did he couldn’t help the laugh that burst out.  “You’re confused.”

“I’m not, everyone knows it. Well, everyone but you.”

He frowned as one of the recruits took a shield to the face and shouted out an order for them to pay more attention before replying.  “She’s with Dorian.”

“She’s with…”  Leliana’s eyes grew wide before she began laughing, a hand coming up belatedly to cover the sound.  “Is that what you think?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

The laughter continued another moment, her words laced with it.  “It might be fun to let you keep thinking that, but seeing as I like Alys quite a bit I’ll go ahead and clear it up.  She’s not with Dorian, and she never will be.”

There was a spark, a very, very small spark in his chest that he did his best to ignore, at her words. Realistic, he needed to be realistic. “Together or not, there is obvious interest on both ends.”

Leliana rolled her eyes and stepped closer to him, her voice dropping.  “There isn’t.  Dorian prefers the company of men.”

“Prefers…”  Cullen trailed off a moment before continuing.  “How do you know that?”

The smile was back, as was the laugh.  “Really, Commander?”

He conceded it was a silly question and asked another instead.  “Does the Inquisitor know?”

“Of course.”

“And… the Inquisitor is, uh… hmm.”

  
“Interested in you, yes.”

He let the words sink in, the implication of them, and the small spark grew a bit.  His mind shot back to earlier and the pink cheeked way she had said she’d like to find a way to get him out of his armor, and he suddenly felt very much like a fool.  He had been so sure…

“If you’ll excuse me, I need to… umm…”  He gave up in the face of Leliana’s too knowing look and sketched her a bow before turning to head in the direction he had seen Alys and Dorian go.  He found them in the armory, Alys testing out a new set of daggers.

“Inquisitor.”  The title was out before he could think on it and he stumbled to a stop when both people looked over at him.

He could do this, he could.

“I was wondering- That is, um.  I need to speak with you.  In private. Now.”

He saw Dorian’s eyebrows shoot up, an amused grin forming that was a direct contrast to the Inquisitor’s confused expression.

“Must be important.  I’ll leave you two alone then.  I’ll see you later, love?”

Alys sent him a distracted nod even as she moved closer to Cullen, worry writing itself over her face.

Neither of them noticed Dorian leave.

“Is everything alright?”

“No, I mean-I mean, yes.” He closed his eyes a moment and willed his heart to slow down and his words to come out right.  “Yes, everything’s fine.  I just wanted to know if you would like to take a walk with me. I mean, I have to do a patrol, and I would like…”  He shook his head and lifted a hand to rub at his neck.  “I would very much like your company if you could spare the time.”

He watched, half wary, as she took a step towards him.  The pink was back on her cheeks, and she looked so pleased that his heart sped up again. “I would like that.”

“So would I.”  The words felt inadequate, especially since they were simply a weak repeat of what he had already said, and he dropped his hand even as he shifted, restless.  “Alys…” he started, and froze when he realized he’d used her name.  When she simply continued to watch him, he rushed on. “I think I was confused about… things. I would like to make up for that now.”

Her smile was wide, and her cheeks as red as he knew his own to be.  She rocked towards him a moment, her smell tickling at his nose, before settling back again.  “Good.”


End file.
